*Spoilers after the ads*
Fun Filler Material for the Harry Potter World
Summary:
Fantastic Beasts introduced us to Eddie Redmayne’s character, Newt Scamander, and a whole host of oddball characters and creatures. The Crimes of Grindelwald picks up where the last movie left off. Presumably a few months have gone by. There’s the prologue where Grindelwald escapes and then it pulls a “3 months later” bit, but I’m not quite sure how long Grindelwald was in prison in New York.
Additional Comments:
- Given the title, I honestly thought we’d see more of Grindelwald. His main crime was escaping. He’s certainly got a cult-like following, but we don’t naturally see him do much illegal.
- The plot seems scattered.
- Overall: It’s a mix of really cool, fast action sequences, talking, walking, talking, explaining lore to the audience, and talking some more. There are some undeniably sweet sections of the movie that keep it entertaining, but it’s not quite a perfect movie.
- Humor: Cat toy. If/when you see this movie, look for the cat toy. It’s an amazing sequence.
- The lady who plays Queenie still looks like Keira Knightly to me. Not sure why. The voice used is somewhat similar to the fairy in the new Nutcracker movie, but not quite as annoying.
- Jacob seemed useless in the first movie, and he sort of comes across that way again.
- The beasts in here are few and far between but either terrifying, awesome, or gosh-darn cute. I am starting to like the little mole-like critter who steals things.
- What saves the movie? Action sequences. Easter eggs. It’s a blatant money grab, but an effective one.
Conclusion:
It’s a movie worth watching once or twice. It’s actually probably best suited for the casual Harry Potter fan. Rabid fans are going to nitpick even more than I did.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Spoiler Section:
- Leta’s story is tragic. She seems like a really cool character, but you really hardly get to know the lady. I like that her fear is explained to us, but that whole journey’s quite the story info-dumping stretch. I don’t see much of a different way to deliver the twist, but that’s besides the point. With the budget they had, they ought to have done better.
- Confusing points: I’m not sure if I don’t know enough lore or I know too much, but I thought in Harry Potter there was a section where Dumbledore talks about his brother with there being a mental picture of him. If Credence is the brother then how the heck could there be a picture of him. Was that just a lie on Grindelwald’s part? I feel like the writers painted themselves into a corner a few times and then were like “nope, just kidding, none of that happened … it’s really this way.”
- The Nagini part also confused me. Besides being Credence’s friend, does she have any relevance?
- I like that they clarified why Dumbledore couldn’t fight Grindelwald, even if the explanation’s kind of weak. They tried valiantly.
